Maybe if you like DEX you should just buy DEX? I love the iPad I have and I don't need more ways to shoot myself in the foot, I have a computer for that
This is akin to telling people that want to load their own software/sideload apps to an iPhone to go buy an Android. It is neither what they asked for, nor something that'll impact you if you choose not to participate.
No, it is telling people "if you want a computer then get a computer". Perhaps one reason iPad is so insanely successful and a pleasure to use (compared to dex etc) is that it's specifically not one. Connect the dots.
Do you think Apple considers it "insanely successful" that the iPad has gone from over 41B in inflation-adjusted revenue over a decade ago, to 28B in 2023? Are articles like these pointing out the issues with the OS not a reflection that the product isn't meeting user's needs, and at least partially explaining the decline?
Lastly, do you think Apple shares your mantra of "If you want a [device] then get a [device]" when they developed the ability to run iOS/iPadOS apps on Apple Silicon Macs? iPads can run iOS apps too, why didn't Apple tell them to get an iOS device instead?
If you make a device that works and doesn't become quickly obsolete then yeah its sales will go down as more people get it.
> Lastly, do you think Apple shares your mantra of "If you want a [device] then get a [device]" when they developed the ability to run iOS/iPadOS apps on Apple Silicon Macs? iPads can run iOS apps too, why didn't Apple tell them to get an iOS device instead?
One is a computer, it's natural to give it more features but not the reverse...
Dex is basically an elaborate app. Telling people to buy a different device to get an app means there is a failure going on in what is offered. The dots don't connect.
I really don't have any issue with iPad being focused in non-technical users, but them Apple really should drop the "Pro" moniker in iPad and just stop using Apple Mx and go back to use Ax CPUs instead (and also, a sharp drop in price).
I think that is the main point of the article above, and also why so many people would want an iPad Pro to actually have Pro features [1].
[1]: Yes, I know about iPhone Pro, but at least iPhone Pro have some exclusive features that make sense for Pro users like USB 3.0 and ProRes camera features. However in the case of iPad Pro, what is actually the workflow that requires a better CPU? Final Cut? And that is it basically.
BTW, I would be happy if iPad OS at least exposed its hypervisor for applications, so UTM (https://docs.getutm.app/installation/ios/) would be useful in a non-jailbroken device.
But not even that, you are limited to using JIT unless you have a jailbroken device (or outdated versions of iOS).
A better SOC improves the workflow for music production, 3d modeling/sculpting, illustration, video editing, and probably many other pro workflows I'm not thinking of at the moment.
The fact that the iPad is a shitty development platform doesn't mean that it lacks pro features or people can't make use of the improvements to the CPU/GPU.
That as the article shows, are not that good because iPad OS sucks in lots of areas that Pros needs (e.g. File manager for people doing video editing).
I strongly agree with almost everything Federico complains about in this article, especially file management like you mention. It is a pain point. It doesn't mean iPads aren't great for a lot of these things.
I have different nitpicks about any system I use; it doesn't disqualify it from being legitimately good for X task.
> I strongly agree with almost everything Federico complains about in this article, especially file management like you mention. It is a pain point. It doesn't mean iPads aren't great for a lot of these things.
I think there is a difference between being "great" and "usable". I consider iPad usable for all those tasks, but to be great you actually need to offer more features to Pro users. Right now, the only Pro usage I think iPad are great is drawing, but in this case you can even get by with a first or second generation iPad Pro.
But maybe I am nitpicking, you are right that iPads are ok for some Pro users, but great would be too much.
I guess 'great' is pretty subjective. I think it's a great platform for musicians because it does things that either can't or aren't done on other platforms. One such example is the various touch interface based synthesizers like Borderlands Granular. It actually takes advantage of the form factor because it can assume it's a touch-based interfaced, unlike with Mac or PC.
It's not that it can't be made on PC; there's plenty of PCs with touch screens, but it's not.
It's also just very competent as a music making device in general. Yeah, it's a pain in the ass dealing with samples on iPadOS and iOS, which is why things like AudioShare [1] exist to help deal with the lackluster file management. But in most cases, you don't really need to touch that. There's a ton of great synthesizers, drum machines, and various different styles of music production groovebox/launchers/loopers/daws/mixers on it that just don't exist on other platforms. You can also use it to augment other platforms, through things like Logic Remote [2] or LK [3], which turns your iPad into a controller interface for Ableton Live.
It's not perfect, but neither is the Mac. or Linux or Windows or any other platform that is used for making music. I still think it's great, though.
It would be fine if there was a flurry of DEX tablets and a ton of competition in the market. Then the iPad could be a device on the side, the same way Apple monitors are a specific taste of monitors and very few people complain about what they can and cannot do.
Things is, there's very few competent tablets: basically two or three makers on the Windows side, the Samsung Ultra tablets, Xiaomi, and the iPad Pro. And right now the future or the Surface Pro line is pretty dicy, so the iPad becoming more competent would be more than welcome.
To your point, there could be more differenciation between the "pro" line and the regular iPads.
Pro work can be done in iPad. Audio production, photo processing, painting, 3D modeling and what have you.
The only pro thing that is being complained about here is programming but hey most people are not programmers. Don't let the HN echo chamber mislead you...
There is a lot of gotcha outside of the obvious stuff.
For instance iOS's process management model means your program gets suspended if it goes too long in the background. Let's say you want to write an email in fullscreen while exporting your superb 4K movie in the background, tough luck.
Idem if you want to have multiple programs running video content in parrallel (or even look at multiple videos at the same time. Short of using a dedicated app, the default ones won't help you)
The browser situation could get resolved as the EU has pressured Apple to do it, but there is still a lot of things that could get improved to help power users, even outside of our circles.
